The doctor told this newspaper that ever since the woman's first examination she had been praying with her and posited that it was prayer and consistent counselling that have helped her healing. Dularie's relatives were also at the hospital and they praised the hospital's administration, the nurses and most of all Dr Fiel. They said that Dularie's condition prior to her surgery had looked bleak and they were not confident that she would have made it through the surgery.

Dularie, a mother of one, could not recall exactly when she first noticed something was wrong, but said that one day she started to feel very heavy and had abdominal pain. But she said she ignored her feelings and continued her normal life.

Dularie said that as her midsection expanded, she found she could not walk long distances and many times while walking was forced to stop after a few metres, rest a while and then go again. The woman said that life for her before the surgery was one of little hope. "I used to think that I will die some time soon.

Every day somebody see me and ask why me na go and look after meself, but boy I was afraid", she told Stabroek News. She related that sometimes when she went to the market she would sense people giving her bewildered looks. "I know some of them use to think I was pregnant, old, old me," Dularie said. According to her, because of this, she curtailed her social life somewhat to avoid the scourge and when she went out she tried desperately to get home before a certain time.

She said that many days sumptuous dishes were prepared at home but because of her condition she could not eat as she would have liked.

Dularie said that when she finally got serious about her health was last year and she visited the Woodlands Hospital but could not muster enough strength to do the surgery. She said that she went to the clinic and received sound medical advice but taking the last step was very difficult.

"Although I want to feel better I didn't want to take any chances because those things are life and death," Dularie declared.

Then, some three months ago, Dularie's friend Marie Singh introduced her to Dr Fiel. Singh said yesterday that her husband had visited the hospital and was treated by Dr Fiel and recovered well and since then she always had confidence in the doctor. Dularie said that she was tense going into the theatre, as even with all that she was told, fear overcame her, but she was further inspired by the comforting words of the two doctors. (Nigel Williams)